Beethoven's life ......... ?

Question

I just watched the movie, 'Immortal Beloved' and my question....?
This movie is based on the life of Beethoven. I am wondering how true the story is? Does this movie have a lot of supposition in it, or is it pretty factual?
Beethoven never married, but he had mistresses among the royalty? He had a brother who died of TB, and who left a wife and son behind.....then it turns out the brother's son is really Beethoven's son? Your thoughts??? What did Beethoven die from, and how old was he? THANX !

Answer 1

There are threads of truth in the film, but mostly it is supposition and extrapolation of a bunch of theories about who the "immortal beloved" was. No-one knows for sure.
Beethoven, not a rakishly attractive man and not withstanding the fact that he was a creative genius, had an unfortunate propensity for falling for unattainable women. He was, despite his ego, not a member of the nobility (although some accounts of his life say that he frequently suggested that he was).
He died, according to recent theory from complications due to lead poisoning. His nephew Karl was just that... his nephew... there is little justification to make a case that he was actually Beethoven's son.
Maynard Solomon's biography goes into the immortal beloved issue in some detail and also provides some psychological analysis of the relationship Beethoven had with Karl.

Answer 2

Despite 's bold assertion that it is "mostly true" and "he died of old age" -- based on what I have no idea, I can tell you that:

Karl, Beethoven's nephew, was definitely NOT a product of any incestuous relationship -- he was simply Beethoven's nephew. You will find no serious biographies or studies that even insinuate otherwise

Beethoven never married, and is suspected of having affairs with some young ladies in the noble class, yes, that much is true. Scholars have all but given up on the "immortal beloved" issue -- her identity will likely remain a mystery.
The cause of Beethoven's death, at the age of 56, is a matter of some debate. There is the above "lead poisoning" theory, which has yet to be corroborated (nor has it been refuted, I should add). We know that he had a chronic liver ailment, severe abdominal pain, etc., but diagnosing patients long dead is always a dangerous business. But it certainly was not "old age, I think".

So, as usual, the movie is peppered with enough facts to give it respectablity, and enough fictions to give it some good Hollywood intrigue. Gary Oldman was very good.

Answer 3

The book "Beethoven's Hair" points out that the remaining samples of Beethoven's hair have been chemically analyzed and found to contain literally lethally high lead content.

Lead poisoning accounts for many of Beethoven's maladies including his deafness and his well known gastro intestinal complaints.

How the lead got into his body is not certain, but a plausible explanation is that as a young man he drank a lot of cheap wine. The wine, back then, was adulterated with lead to make it taste smooth and sweet.

As far as the sentimental portrayal of LVB is concerned, there is nothing in any of his remaining letters or note books to indicate that the character portrayed in the film is in any way accurate.

Beethoven died in 1827 at the age of 56. Beethoven's nephew, by the way, sold off many of his uncle's belongings after 1827.Carl, the nephew, eventually immigrated to the United States and spent most of his working career as an employee of the Union Pacific railroad.

Answer 4

Maynard Solomon's biography is good. You are unlikely to find a biography with a christian bias as (even by the standards of the time) Beethoven was not a particularly devout man.

Answer 5

Fredrick Z is correct. Hair and bone fragments belonging to Beethoven that were analyzed showed toxic overdose levels of lead.

In addition to the very strong possibility of diet (wine), there is also some conjecture that it may have come from medication or from a metabolism disorder that prevented him from excreting some of the lead causing it to build up and overwhelm his body. Clear symptoms of lead poisoning were apparent before age 24 and were severe by age 29.

Musician, composer, teacher.

Answer 6

Look up Ludwig von Beethoven on wikipedia.org and you will learn everything known about him.

Answer 7

It's mostly true. Beethoven died of old age I think.